


Silent Cinderella

by Midori_Hime



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: A Severe Lack of Card Games, Bitchy Teenage Girls, Drama, F/M, Fairy Tales, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-12-27
Updated: 2012-12-27
Packaged: 2017-11-22 15:31:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/611357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Midori_Hime/pseuds/Midori_Hime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shizuka wants to get ahead in life. Kaiba just wants to de-stress. Mokuba wants his brother to be happy, and Jou's rather clueless. A tale of a not-so-epic love between Domino's Prince-of-pretty-much-everything and the girl who's rather unsure.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

He watched her as she laughed, clinging to her brother as he tried to put space between her and her moronic admirers. He couldn't help but snort. She wasn't anything special.

She was just your average, young, run-of-the-mill school girl. She was small, not fragilely so, with horridly ginger and a smattering of freckles. Her eyes were an odd shade of green and brown mixed together; always darting around looking for that dog of a brother she seemed to care about so much. (The mutt was an idiot and had barely been involved in her life. Was she that desperate for family that she'd cling to him that much? He didn't understand that and didn't care to.)

The girl barely spoke up (he'd always found it irritating that he'd have to strain to hear her), always looked worried (leading to an annoying habit of gasping, biting her thumb or acting like a cheerleader) and never stood up for herself to make Dumb and Dumber back off. (He could only be thankful his own sibling had more spine than that kid.)

They'd said she was like a 'real life Cinderella'. But he couldn't think of her as anything more than a runty little mouse – the only way she was going to get close to being Cinderella-esque was if she made a home in the glass slipper. Knowing the girl though, he'd thought idly as her and her brute of her brother stuffed themselves on his blimp, it was more probable that she was going to get stomped by it. He smiled at the thought.


	2. The Dream

_Once upon a time_ , a young girl, Cinderella, lived with her widowed father. He gave her everything she could ever want or need. However, he believed Cinderella needed a mother's love. So her father re-married. Te woman was beautiful, from a good family and had two daughter's Cinderella's age. They made a good family.

At least, they had. That was until the father, a good and kind man, tragically passed away. The step mother's true personality was revealed. A bitter, vile woman was left as the matriarch of the family and their beautiful chateau. The woman put the needs of her two awkward and vicious daughters first and her own desires ruled the house (which had long ceased to be a home). Meanwhile, Cinderella was abused and humiliated, becoming a servant in her own home.

Bu, in the face of adversity, Cinderella grew into a beautiful and caring young maiden. She had her dreams and desires and eventually found true love in the Prince of her small kingdom (with a bit of help from her Fairy Godmother).

The step sisters and their mother got what they deserved and the kingdom prospered under Cinderella and her prince.  _And they lived happily ever after._

…

But this isn't a fairytale. This is a story set in Domino City, one of Japan's most bustling areas. It's ruled not by a handsome and kind prince but rather by business tycoons and corrupt politicians. Cinderella never existed outside of the well worn pages of her tale or beyond Walt Disney's colourful movies.

The dreams of young girls are created by fairytales and destroyed by reality. However, despite life's hardships, some people won't be swayed from their optimism, continuing to believe that "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" and that their Prince will sweep them off their feet.

How often does that happen? How often are we fulfilled? How often are we happy? But that's a discussion for another time. For now, let's begin the story of a girl dreaming of her Prince in a world so unlike Cinderella's.

It was another dreary day; the last month had been full of them! The sky was grey and the rain fell in heavy torrents, creating large puddles and making slushy mud. Shizuka sighed, her breath fogging up the window as her teacher droned on – history was so much more interesting when it involved ancient artefacts and a very real threat to the world she lived in. After everything that had happened in Battle City, she'd done more research on Egypt and the origins of Duel Monsters, but now her favourite subject was as dull as the rest of school.

After lunch was art and the redhead could only hope the rain would ease off by then. She had to walk home at the end of the day and didn't particularly feel like getting drenched. Her house was only a few blocks away, but her jumper always smelt like wet dog if it got the slightest bit damp. She wrinkled her nose as she recalled how her room had smelt for days after she lost the cream jumper under her bed. It hadn't been very appealing, to say the least.

The rain had stopped later on, letting the students run free at lunch, getting rid of all the energy that magically appears after being locked up in school during the wet spells. Then it had become so hot that puddles had begun to evaporate while she was painting in art. After school ended, it was as if she'd jinxed herself. The moment she walked outside, refusing her friend's offer for a ride home or to borrow her cute umbrella, the water started belting down even harder than earlier. Shizuka heard some of her classmates curse and they splashed her as they ran by, bags over their heads as thunder rolled in the distance.

She panted as she ran home (jumped stuffed unceremoniously in her bag, no doubt ridiculously wrinkled), trying to squeeze under awnings when she could. Her shirt was soaked through and she was pretty sure her brown shoes were now irreparable due to water damage from all this damn rain! She cursed mentally, hair sticking to her head and ran around an old couple in the middle of the path.

As the first bolt of lightning lit up the sky, the thunder boomed much louder than before. The ginger haired girl jumped and slipped, catching herself on a pole. The girl, in her second year of high school, decided it wasn't worth the dash home and slipped into a bookshop at the end of the street. It was quaint and warm, albeit the floor a bit slippery and the room slightly squishy, but it sold coffee and homemade cookies, almost seemingly in an effort to make up for its dated appearance.

With a mournful sigh, she shut the door and checked her watch. It was already half past four. Her mum wasn't going to be home for another two hours, she could probably pick her up then. Shizuka was about to go through her bag, but realized she left her phone charging on her desk after talking to Maya last night. Blowing some stray hair out of her face, she wondered how long the storm was going to last. Her mother knew this was one of her favourite places – she'd come looking eventually. Until then, she'd do her homework. After opening her saturated bag, the teen was glad when her jumper looked to be in perfect condition – then she saw the stain.

Groaning, she looked at her hands, finding then removing the offending wet paint with a napkin. Her calculator decided to die as well and she embarrassed herself by not having enough money to pay for her hot chocolate. She resignedly packed up her things and decided just to walk home, wishing that she hadn't broke her umbrella last week.

"No. No. No. Are you serious? No. Really now? How many times must I repeat myself?" Toriyabe Hanako, a short woman in her early twenties, pushed up her glasses and glared. She was the second most intimidating and third toughest person at Kaiba Corporation, only behind the Kaiba brothers. Mokuba was the likeable Kaiba, friendly to all, but she was second only to the boss – she was Kaiba Seto's secretary. And she was pissed.

"Do you even know what we do here at Kaiba Corporation?" The man in front of her started to speak, but Hanako cut him off. "We deal with the most advance gaming technology available; we're superior, top of the field. This," the brunette gestured angrily at the application she'd just tossed into the bin, "- is pathetic."

"But Toriyabe-san –" The young man from PR started, but the petite secretary slammed him down.  
"The Kaiba Corporation Achievement Scholarship is for people who have already achieved. They need to be skilled in the areas of computers, have a solid understanding of maths and science and also be reasonably involved in Duel Monsters. This is by no means an application to be a  _cover girl_ ," some of the others in the room scoffed and chortled, "-it's a serious form to possibly fast track a career in working here or to get a respectable job in design!"

More people had gathered around the elevator and coffee machine at either end of the hall, watching the older woman snarl, amused at the man's plight, but so very thankful they weren't in his position. "Uh, well…there are a few other applications here-" The black haired man shrunk as those green eyes narrowed further. "These are better! Really, I promise these were the best of the lot!" Truth be told, these were the ones Shinji was just about to throw out. He wasn't interested in working with  _these_ ones.

Hanako snatched the remaining three files and stormed up the hall, heels clicking loudly. She entered the elevator (everyone pretended they'd just gotten out) and turned around. Before the elevator shut, she called out quietly in a voice that carried down the hall that still hadn't quite started to function normally again. "Be careful, Shinji-kun. If you're wrong…well, you know, don't you?" A sweet smile and the elevator closed its doors smoothly.

Some of the older staff, more senior than Hanako, chuckled. The boy wasn't really going to get fired. Kaiba Corporation rarely fired people if they could help it, and Hanako didn't have the authority to do that anyway (not that the younger and greener employees knew that).

Hanako exited the elevator, still smiling. That poor boy. Silly thing should have given her the proper papers in the first place, instead of all the riff raff. She couldn't fire him (but she did have the power to put those motions in place rather quickly) and he was only filling in for the head of PR while he was away (why Yamamoto-san had left  _Shinji_  of all people in charge, she'd never know), but it was  _so_  fun to mess with the newbies. She walked towards her desk as the elevator dinged cheerily, going back down and she smirked. Hanako really did love her job.

"Anything else?"  
"No sir." Hanako held her boss in high regard, which was probably why her work limits exceeding others and why she'd risen so quickly to secretary of the 'Prince of Domino' as the more impressionable girls fawned. He needed to relax more, so she would do everything she could do to help, unlike her idiotic sister, Minako, who was Head of Staff at the Kaiba Manor. "After you sign these, we can send of the confirmation letters and the scholarship recipients can start by the end of the month."

Another smile was directed at Seto, but his eyes were glued to the glaring laptop screen in front of him, as they had been for the last twelve hours. Hands perfect for playing the piano (and the girl's in the coffee room often fantasised about what else) scrawled his signature thrice, barely looking over the files, and returned them almost instantaneously.

"You can leave now, Hana." The brunette smiled again, whispering "Good night, Seto-sama" as she bowed. As usual, his focus had returned to the softly whirring machine on his desk. Seto never gave a reply, but she was used to that by now. Hanako and her unguided twin, Minako, had been with Kaiba Corporation since Seto had taken over.

There were no words to show her respect for Seto. Unlike the brats who stuck photos of him on the sides of his computers and gossiped about his life, Hanako genuinely cared about him. Seto certainly wasn't the easiest person to get along with, but he had let her in more so than others. She was the one who was asked second opinions, organised things when he was ill and invited to watch Mokuba's soccer games (by the younger Kaiba, of course) or be his date for charitable functions.

Despite all she didn't know about him, she wasn't giving up. With everything he'd done for her and Mina, she'd do anything to protect the young CEO. With his help, she had plenty of money, a stable and most envied job, a comfortable home and she didn't have to worry about Minako doing god-knows-what. No one was  _ever_  going to harm him in any manner – she'd stake her life on it.

The storm had started to cease when she got to her street, but the rain kept up long into the evening. After a warm shower and a dinner of oden, Shizuka settled down to start her homework (again). By 7.30 pm, she'd finished planning her artist essay and she completed her history homework. The brunette sighed, wishing she hadn't spent the better half of fifteen minutes searching for batteries for the damn calculator!

Now she had the choice of watching a drama on NHK or doing maths. It had been a really long day, but she knew she  _really_ ought to get her work done...

After her mother called her down, one drama turned into three, before a hot chocolate and a muffin to send her off to sleep. Despite the enjoyable evening, the teenager already regretted the pile of work that remained sprawled all over her desk. Honestly, she was never going to get anywhere if she kept procrastinating like this! She'd just have to ban herself from TV is all...(the poster of the gorgeous Hideki Ryuuga smirked at her from across the room and Shizuka knew immediately that she couldn't –wouldn't- give TV up.)

Some type of balance was needed though. Things were only going to get harder the closer she got to finishing school, despite the fact that it was more than a year away, her teachers were already preparing them for it (not that half her grade, herself included, even wanted to  _think_  about university yet). It wasn't that her marks were bad or anything (though they weren't spectacular either), Shizuka just wanted to do her best. She  _had_  to do her best!

As her hair fell over her face, she blew at it idly, thinking.  _'If my marks aren't good, I might not get that scholarship...I_ really _need that scholarship...It'll help pay my school fees, giving me a head start on saving for university. If I hadn't gotten ill, I already would have had that money...'_

Her English assignment (not that they knew exactly what is was yet) floated in and out of her mind throughout the night. There was something about relating something to a movie..? (No, that wasn't it…) Ah! Relating your life to a story (preferably something written – her teacher wasn't too impressed with Hollywood remakes of 'brilliant pieces of classic literature').

Would it be presumptuous of her to relate her life to Cinderella? (It had always been her favourite.) A Prince, a dream coming true, a person who she wanted to be like – this fairytale really had it all. Cinderella was beautiful, kind, gentle and virtuous – she was the perfect girl! As a child, Shizuka had always envied her for that (it was no wonder the Prince had married her) and tried to model herself after the beautiful servant-turned-Princess.

With age, that chase faded while her focus turned to grades and her failing eyesight. On her roughest day, she cried bitterly because of the lack of a Fairy Godmother to save her from her woes. The day after, Cinderella was thrown from her mind – this was her life and she was going to live it, rather than try to emulate Cinderella's pixelated version.

But the beloved fairy tale had returned soon enough. Shizuka's eye operation had been a success and she got to spend time with her brother! It may not have been a fairy tale ending with the holographic monsters and evil alter-egos, but she was happy with where she was. She had more friends now and had been on adventures that were the stuff of fiction (as said all of school friends who were out of the loop) and the young girl was content with that. How could she not be? After all, everyone does love a happy ending.

Ah, she could worry about that later, when she actually knew what the assignment was! (And thinking deeper, she thought Cinderella was a stupid choice – it was probably just because she was tired that her mind drew those vague similarities.) Sighing again, Shizuka thought more on the Kaiba Corporation Achievement Scholarship. The form had been an absolute pain to fill out, but she could really use its help.

It's main purpose was to help those who were affected by hardship but had also achieved despite that. She wasn't interested in computer engineering, but a job at Kaiba Corporation would get her almost anywhere! Her dream was designing – she preferred fashion, but interior or any other type of design was great. As long as she could doodle and dream, the young girl was happy.

(It was much better than becoming a teacher, which is what she'd told the career's councillor she thought she could realistically become. Teaching would be dull with crappy pay, but it'd be a living. Even if it did involved bitchy high school students day in and day out.)

Her mother had always told her that honesty was the best policy, but perhaps being so blunt on her application paper hadn't been the best idea for this case. Maybe that's why she hadn't received a reply – her lack of interest in computers and vague place on the Duel Monsters scene must have ruined her chances more than she'd thought..

The young girl shut her eyes, yawning. She pulled the covers up tighter, praying that Kaiba and Jounochi's antagonism for each other didn't ruin her chances even more…

As the computer clicked off, Kaiba looked over the scholarship recipients properly. A pretty girl, Higurashi Momo, had rather good grades, despite her poor attendance; Terauchi Suzume was rather plain, but she was class president and her computer skills were amazing (according to her application anyway); Kawai Shizuka…he'd heard that name before. He knew who she was…well, there was a vague feeling he did, at any rate.

The young president frowned, trying to figure out who that smiling face was, but nothing triggered his memory. Her statement and the information she'd given didn't reveal much about her – the red-headed girl definitely wasn't a duelist (at least not one worthy of being on his radar) and he couldn't remember Mokuba telling him about her, although they went to the same school across the city (though there was a few years difference between them..).

It wasn't until after the brunette had finished packing his duralumin case that it hit him. That smiling face (and horridly ginger hair) face belonged to the mutt's sister. They looked nothing alike – the same applied to him and Mokuba, but at least they had similar tastes and goals. The CEO of Kaiba Corporation turned the lights off and took the lift to the underground car park. With a twist of his key, the car revved up and Kaiba smirked, the last thought of Kawai leaving as he entered the traffic. Things were certainly going to become interesting.


	3. The Servant Girl

Cinderella was a normal girl. She enjoyed a happy life and lived everyday to its fullest. After the death of her beloved father, however, things changed drastically. She quickly became the servant in her home. Her life revolved around the whims of her two brutish stepsisters and her days were contained in the iron grasp of her cruel-willed stepmother. Though, true to her nature, she'd just smile and do whatever needed to be done - "There's nothing to it, really!" she'd say, no matter the time of day.

According to them, she could never do anything right, no matter how hard she tried. Her stepmother's upper lip would always curl as she sneered and demeaned her abilities, looks, intelligence and whatever else she could think of. Although her family kept her hopping, and almost dizzy with all the work, she stayed busy - as her stepmother would remind her, true to her nature as one lower than the lady of the house.

She tried not to be bitter, so a dreamer she became. Cinderella promised herself she'd do something,  _anything_ , to gain their affection. The young girl just wanted her family to know she was more than what she appeared.

And in the end, while she may not have gained her family's favours, she became a princess and was able to truly shine. Although she had been ostracized as 'the servant girl', she had always done her best. The young lady became the kingdom's kind and respected princess due to her optimistic nature and gentle heart. Her prince-with whom it had been love at first sight—had come and swept her off her feet, paving the way for their 'happily ever after'.

.~.

It was a wonderful Monday morning and nothing was going to change that. The sun was shining brightly and her breakfast smelt absolutely amazing—it was going to be a great day for sure! She ran lightly down the stairs, stopping to fix her hair in the reflection of a photo halfway down, before going into the kitchen.

"Ohayou~! That smells so good!" The redhead sat down and quickly started eating.

"Ohayou, Shizuka-chan." Her mother responded vaguely, more preoccupied with making her bento.

After finishing the delicious meal, the young girl finished packing her bag and left home with a cheery "See you later!" followed by wave. Smiling as she jogged to school, Shizuka really couldn't understand why people didn't like Mondays.

.~.

Kaiba Seto was not a man who was ever late (and if such an event were to occur, he simply acted as though everybody else was early). By seven a.m., he was in his office at Kaiba Corporation, starting up his computer and reading over his schedule for the day (although he'd much rather be in bed like his lucky little brother). As usual, Hanako presented him with breakfast and her 'breakfast beverage of the week'. He'd long ago learnt to let her mother him; and since he usually left home at such a stupid hour, most mornings he couldn't be bothered with breakfast so the girl's thoughtfulness was greatly appreciated. The meal was always accompanied with a perky "Good morning, Seto-sama!" (he occasionally felt guilty about grunting in response, but who could honestly be that cheery at such an hour?).

Apart from the usual appointments and such, his schedule also contained a note for the following Monday, and how, due to the differences of that day's schedule, this week had had to be rearranged. Belatedly, he called out to Hanako as she was leaving the room, querying on the change (the CEO didn't mind change—that is, of course, if it were on his terms). As soon as the secretary started speaking, Seto wished he'd asked after he had drunk coffee or had woken up some more.

"Apart from your usual schedule, we've had to rearrange things for next Monday's meeting." Clearly used to the lack of conversation and being a master of understanding his "I'm-going-to-pretend-I-actually-know-what-you're-talking-about" look, Hanako spared her boss the trouble of asking and ranted on.

"I2 want to have their annual meeting then, and they aren't taking no for an answer. In exchange for letting them have it when they want, it'll only be for a few hours, rather than a full day." (And this was the reason he hired Hanako - she made him spend less time with Pegasus. The girl was obviously a genius.)

"Monday is also the briefing for the new scholarship interns. They should be here by 5 o'clock, but hopefully they'll arrive earlier so we can start before then," (as the shorter brunette thought of last year's hopeless bunch—none had lasted the entire internship—she vowed that heads would roll if the new lot weren't any better), "and we can wrap things up and be out of here by about 8:30!"

Kaiba nodded and sipped at his drink, obviously still trying to process all she had ranted on about. Hanako bowed and smiled gently, leaving his office quietly. She had had to re-arrange her own schedule to, due to I2 people's stubbornness and the interns briefing. But, the faster she got her work done, the faster Friday would come! A free weekend before next Monday (the secretary, although young, was experienced enough with these events to know that if something could go horribly wrong, it definitely would) would do her a world of good!

And a free weekend meant a cheap glass of wine, some cheesy romantic movie, ice-cream and her fluffy cat. Of course, she had to go and ruin the enjoyment of her weekend by reminding herself of Minako's upcoming plans. Her sister's weekend involved a shopping spree, three parties, a beauty salon and a date with an incredibly gorgeous guy...

She reached her desk and sat down, swiveling her chair to stare at Seto's door. Sighing, Hanako wished her boss wasn't so oblivious to her. She desperately hoped he'd pick up her hints soon—she definitely had no desire to become a Christmas cake! But for now, at least, it was going to be another week of daydreams fighting away loneliness and chasing away her one and only, most obvious, unrequited love.

.~.

Monday morning dawned after a typical week had gone by. The week had been the first in many to be without rain, and Shizuka had prospered. The young girl had passed two tests and her English teacher had surprisingly approved of the Cinderella idea (again, she let herself get caught up in watching the dramas on NHK and hadn't had the time to plan a decent idea). Shizuka had also met up with friends for coffee, ate the most amazing cupcakes, and had watched the new Harry Potter movie! (The first part of Deathly Hallows was amazing naturally, but the teen couldn't decide whether Fred was cuter than George, or if it was the other way around...)

But, as her luck (so unlike Jounouchi's own amazing luck) ran out as the new week rolled around. Her hair was a mess and the iron was refusing to iron so her school uniform was equally as horrid. She yawned and stretched, putting on her jumper (at least she'd been able to remove the stain).

The red-head was running late and fell down the stairs. As she thumped down the remainder of the stairs, Shizuka quietly sighed.

"I really don't like Mondays...".

Her mother, having heard the soft grumblings, simply tsked. "Too bad! You're running late as it is! Take this, have your breakfast, and get moving!"

Her mother left to go to work and Shizuka packed her bag, not really in the mood to rush. Much to her annoyance, the clock seemed to tick louder with each second. After she finished packing her bag, the teen looked at the clock and could have sworn.

It wasn't until she was halfway down the street that she realised she was chewing on the letters her mother had left for her. She kept running, mourning the toast that was becoming cold on the kitchen table. Giving an aggravated cry, the girl stuffed the letters in her bag without care and kept running, listening to her stomach growl almost as angrily as she was.

.~.

However, it wasn't until lunch that day (when, naturally, she found she'd only packed half her lunch) that the horrible-tasting letters were read. Shizuka then proceeded to spit out her juice (much to the disgust of her friends) and promptly started freaking out.

.~.

It was 5:15pm, and she had had quite enough crap for one day, thank you very much. She was beyond late, beyond tired and beyond caring. The teen had been given permission to skip her afternoon lessons begrudgingly (Shizuka herself wasn't keen on the idea - she was going to have to wait until tomorrow to get the materials and then she had to spend time catching up on top of that) but by the time she got to the train station, she found the train she had planned to take had left a few moments before it should have! She then got the second train (which was a lot quieter than the first would have been) and did her homework slowly, the midday sun making her drowsy and complacent.

Once arriving in Domino, she got lost. She felt as though this was a first for anyone - with the Kaiba Corporation building as large, imposing and dominating as it is, how was it possible for anyone to miss it? After getting directions from a kind looking housewife, Shizuka became even more lost in the bustling city.  _'I really should have known - she looked as though she'd never worked a day in her life, so why would she know how to get anywhere? Probably has a chauffeur and everything!'_  (Shizuka did feel guilty about thinking about someone like that, especially after the lady attempted to help her, but that did nothing for her situation). In the end, it was a crazy punk looking guy with a blue and green Mohawk and numerous piercings that showed her the way. He even walked her to the fancy sliding doors and wished her luck!

And so, when the stylish glass and steel doors to Kaiba Corporation's Board Room One slammed behind her at somewhere close to half past five in the evening, all Shizuka could do was mumble a mere and feeble "I'm so very sorry I'm late..!" in response to the five pairs of eyes that landed on her frazzled form. A professional looking woman (Kaiba's secretary as she soon found out) glared at her. Kaiba looked annoyed (but was that something like expectation in his glance too?).

Kaiba snorted. "You're late, Kawai. Sit down and listen. You've wasted enough of my time as it is." She did as she was told. Inside, Shizuka was close to tears. She'd wanted to get here early too. The joy of the receiving the scholarship had been erased by the embarrassment of being late. Kaiba's usual glare upset her, although it never had before.

She felt as though she had let him down. Here he had given her this wonderful opportunity, and she was already stuffing up. The young girl had so much she wanted to say to the CEO—she wanted to thank him for helping her, she wanted to tell him how much this meant to her. But that would have to wait for a time when he was less mad and more likely to listen to her appreciation.

.~.

He told her to sit, and in contrast to her brother, she did (as much as he was tempted to make a crack or two about her brother, now wasn't the place or time. Besides, it was much more fun to rile up the mutt himself rather than the meek sibling). She had shuffled to her seat timidly, trying to make herself as discrete and small as possible. Kaiba smirked as Hanako gave her a passing exasperate glance and kept continuing with her speech on etiquette at Kaiba Corporation.

Still the girl continued to behave, despite the disapproving glare Terauchi sent her behind rectangular black glasses and Higurashi's poorly disguised snigger. Although he had acknowledged Hanako's exasperation, he had to do a double take after looking Kawai. She looked like she'd just finished a marathon (had she forgotten to pack an umbrella? The forecast had quite clearly said there would be afternoon showers). Despite the less than stellar first impression, his attitude that he could expect nothing else from the mutt's sister changed minutely for the better as the briefing continued.

The redhead sat quietly and listened attentively (much more than bleached blonde across the table was). She answered questions appropriately and filled out her contracts quickly and without fuss. As the smaller brunette's lecture continued on about keeping up grades, professional behaviour and the work expected from interns, the young (and ultimately bored) CEO wondered why he couldn't just do his part first and then leave.

It made sense really. Hanako covered everything in such precise detail (there was such a thing as doing a job  _too_  well, he thought) that all he got to do was re-summarize (which he had to admit, was probably quite useful—even he tuned out after a while of high-speed Hana-speak; the newbies had no chance at remembering everything) and get to know them a bit better. While he hated going last, he also didn't like the idea of his secretary walking to her car by herself. The underground carpark was so safe it was almost ridiculous, but he was paranoid (that and he would probably drown in work if something ever happened to Hanako. Plus, Minako would cry and yell at him. That girl always gave him a headache...)

As Hanako moved onto the next part of her informative rant regarding the amount of work expected from the interns ("A full day - 9 to 5 - every Saturday and at least 10 hours, at your discretion, to be performed within the rest of the week. You are also expected to complete a full week's worth of week during the summer break, so don't even plan on a vacation!") so he glanced at the clock, stifling a sigh. He shouldn't even be here!

It was Yamamoto's job as head of PR to deal with this stuff, but he was still enjoying his annual leave. Shinji, the idiot he left in charge, should have taken over. For some odd reason, the young man had suddenly become very fidgety and worked an insane amount of overtime, leading to some type of breakdown. (Seto had no doubt in blaming Hana for this. She was known for planting seeds of doubt into people she didn't think were good enough with just a few well chosen words...Apart from that, she was smiling when she delivered the news that Shinji would be absent for the next few weeks.)

In any case, with such short notice, the young CEO felt obliged to step in. And naturally, wherever there's a ' _Kaiba-sama~!_ ' there's an over-working, sneaky, motherly, annoying but very much appreciated secretary to pick up the pieces, keep everything as it should be and smile despite his flaws and bad attitude. He was greatful she decided to take on the majority of the briefing - he really should have been home with Mokuba rather than dealing with a bunch of girls.

One of his phones started vibrating and his hand hopefully went to his personal mobile. Thankfully, Mokuba understood why he had to work so much, and rarely demanded his full time attention. Despite the fact his brother was kind enough to let him work and at times even help himself when he should be playing with friends or something, Seto never ceased to feel guilty. And a bit robbed to be honest - Mokuba was a great kid, who wouldn't want to spend time with him?

No matter what anyone else said (Kawai especially), he definitely had the world's best brother. Mokuba was obviously a truly special person - how else would he have been able to put up with someone like him for so long? It felt wrong to leave Mokuba by himself so often. Seto wished for nothing more than to be able to change that.

Right now, however, his hand reluctantly dragged itself to his business phone. He signaled Hanako to start the break early and left the room briskly. The secretary followed soon after, leaving the three teenage girls and their significantly different personalities alone in a room with their tea. And that is where the fun began.

.~.

"Kawai, is it? Do you know Kaiba-sama?" A girl who looked slightly taller than Shizuka's was the first to speak. She was rather plain-looking, with a short and sleek black bob and a tidy fringe, but the brown eyes behind thickset glasses were sharp and analytical (if she were honest, they kinda gave her the creeps...). Her clothes gave a stern impression as well - the girl already looked like she worked as a professional in a high profile company. Seeing her mature looks and way of speaking, Shizuka wasn't surprised she was offered a scholarship. There was no comparison in appearance to Shziuka's messy hair and untidy uniform.

Before she could respond, Shizuka was interrupted by the other girl. She scoffed, rolled her eyes and flicked her hair back simultaneously - while Shizuka made it a goal never to dislike someone, the red-head knew this girl was going to make her skin itch.

"Please, as if! You think Mr. Amazing himself would know a common brat like  _her_?" Annoyed at being called a 'common brat' (considering the other girl obviously hadn't looked in a mirror before), Shizuka was going to interject, but the other teen just kept talking. "Seriously, what were you thinking? Showing up like  _that_ , for  _Kaiba Seto_  of all people! I was here two hours early!" The raven haired girl stayed silent at this, choosing to gently quirk an eyebrow instead. "And showing up in your school uniform - what the hell? That's  _so_  unprofessional! Are you trying to seduce him or something? Because if you are, it's definitely  _not_ working! I mean, it doesn't even look good on you!"

**Splat!**

The tea that had been prepared for them splattered on the girl's face. Of course, this happened just as Kaiba and his companion re-entered the room. Rivulets of the now cold drink trickled from the furious expression on her face to the pink material of her designer top, taking makeup with it as it descended. Shizuka grew pale and slowly brought her hand back to her side while glasses girl smirked. The secretary looked mortified and her first (and hopefully only) enemy glared daggers at her from her seat.

And Kaiba himself? To put it simply, he wasn't the slightest bit impressed.


	4. Welcome To My Truth

'Third time lucky' is how the saying goes, right? Doesn't that mean the ratio is two lots of bad luck to one lot of good luck? What if it's not bad luck, but really horrible unfortunate luck? Does that make the good luck worth it?

In some cases, yes. Cinderella lost her mother at a young age - bad luck number one. However, fortunately, her father raised her well and was there for her. The shape of the second lot of bad luck wasn't obvious until his death. Lady Tremaine wouldn't have been able to win the late aristocrat without some luck of her own, of course. It's either that or Cinderella's father was so infatuated or desperate for his daughter to have a mother figure that he was blind to the step-mother's cruel nature.

By association, 'cinderella' now means one who has gained recognition or has become successful after a period of neglect or difficulty. For Cinderella, the bell rings true. After being forced into servitude, her beauty and kind nature was allowed to shine, by the appearance of her fairy godmother. This allowed her to meet the Prince and if marrying royalty doesn't make one recognizable, what does?

However, fairytales are tales for a reason - to make people feel better. About what exactly? Their lives, themselves, humanity? It doesn't particularly matter. These tales are often extraordinary and unusual and all revolve around the extravagant emerging out of the ordinary.

Can ordinary people live the lives of story book characters? Are we divided into 'good' and 'evil', or categories more like 'damsel in distress' and 'Prince Charming'? Does our luck determine our story? Maybe we make our own luck, which then creates our story? Do we only have one chance at luck? Cinderella met her prince, but as the clock chimed, she had to flee. But her chance came again. Does that mean it's the fourth time, rather than the third, that's the charm?

For Kawai Shizuka, luck was a fickle thing. Her brother held it in abundance when duelling, and she felt like the luckiest girl in the world after her eye surgery was successful. She'd received a chance to work at Kaiba Corporation and wasn't what you'd call dumb. To most, life would seem incredible. But Shizuka wasn't Cinderella, and her luck was nowhere near as simple.

:.:

She didn't really see Kaiba often, but when she did he was never around long enough for her to apologise. Some might have thought it stupid, considering the amount of time that had passed, but the brunette hoped that by apologising to the stoic CEO for her hideous first impression, he wouldn't be as mad and her embarassment from that would also dissipate. That could happen faster if Momo kept being petty and if Marie didn't keep throwing her 'I'm-superior-than- _you_ ' looks. The girl was smart, but that attitude made her haughty and made others feel as though they didn't belong.

Minako, thankfully, had warmed up to her. After their first meeting, the woman had looked as though she had wanted to strangle Shizuka and for the next two weeks, her attitude didn't change. Kaiba's secretary had relaxed around her now (and by relaxed, Shizuka meant she wasn't glaring daggers or scrutinising everything she did for the tiniest flaws) - while she wasn't as smart as Marie or outgoing as Momo, the brunette worked hard and that diligence had appeased the older chocolate haired lady.

The end of the apprentice's first month at Kaiba Corporation as approaching and it was around then that Shizuka finally ran into Seto. Previously, she'd hoped he'd just let her babble an apology, bow and wait till he accepted it (or, to be more realistic, be snide and tell her to stop wasting his time). But things never go according to plan. To start with, she hadn't literally wanted to ran into the older teen. Either way, the minute those blue eyes locked on her hazle ones, the babbling commenced.

Babbling as she was, Shziuka quickly found herself stuttering and stammering far worse than she usually did (Kaiba did have that incredibly intimidating effect on people and she was incredibly nervous... But she'd fought for Ryou, so what was her problem..?) so she dragged her eyes to his shoulders. They were broad and strong looking and encased in some expensive fabric that had been twisted into one of his insane outfit designs. Finding her mind wandering from what she was furiously attempting to do (was it obvious that she was mentally trying to stop agreeing with Sora when she had said those metallic buttons make him look ridiculously  _regal_? She was here to apologise for her behaviour, not embarrass herself further!), the petite girl wrenched her eyes downwards some more.

Following the buttons down his chest, the tailored jacket flared out and become more like a trench coat around his navel. Turning red, thoughts of what was south flooding her mind, Shizuka squeaked (in an unsightly and high pitched manner) and flung herself into a deep bow.

"I'm-really-sorry-Kaiba-sama! It-won't-happen-again-and-I-swear-I-never-meant-it!I-promise!" Squeezing her eyes shut, she continued with a shuddering breath. "And, um... I-just-wanted-to-say-thank-you-for-giving-me-this-opportunity-because-it-really-means-a-lot-to-me-and-I-can't-ever-thank-you-enough!" A shaky sigh and a shudder later and silence reigned supreme. The seconds ticked by as the air conditioner made her bangs tickle the tip of her nose unpleasantly.

"You're welcome." Footsteps sounded as he left, brushing past her in the opposite direction. By the time she'd straightened up, Seto Kaiba was gone, leaving one very confused girl all alone in a fancy hallway, wondering what the heck had just happened.

:.:

Things became relatively normal after that. Marie was still a snob, but she even gave that attitude to actual employees of Kaiba Corp, so it wasn't anything to take to heart. Momo had become bored of picking on Shizuka for her entrance over and over again, so she now mixed it with insults about her grades, personality, clothes and brother (she did all this even though they had barely interacted - but of course, Momo knew a lot more about everything, including Shizuka herself, than the brunette could ever hope to). Sora had shut her up by catching her wearing the same outfit twice in two weeks, down to the exact accessories. The cherry red head had cheerily informed her this was a fashion no-no as the annoyed girl stomped from the cafeteria. Shizuka had merely 'hmmed' in a tone she hoped was agreement and acted as though she was totally up with the latest fashion trends and societal rules.

To be honest, working at Kaiba Corporation was much easier than she thought it would be. That held true for the social aspect at least. Most of the time she was stuck filing papers or doing basic computer work (both Momo and herself had been banned from doing anything too technical after it had taken marie three hours to fix their blunders, pushing up her glasses and clucking her tongue all the while). The interns were given boring jobs that 'weren't up to their calibre' (Momo's voice was always heard complaining over some task or another if she wasn't fawning over the latest piece of eye candy at any rate). These jobs were menial tasks like delivering coffee, photocopying, buying snacks, photocopying, writing down missed/ignored/deemed unimportant phone calls and had photocopying being mentioned?

It wasn't that the work was hard, it was just never ending, dull, tedious and boring. It all sort of looked the same after a while, though at least that made it more difficult to make mistakes. However, when a mistake was made, as the interns soon found out, it could take an incredibly long time to rectify! It also tended to include a lot of groveling and apologising.

But socially, Shizuka could clearly see why Kaiba Corporation was rated one of the best places in the world to work. The cafeteria was top notch (those sweet chili wraps and chocolate mousse cakes!) and there were numerous rooms to relax in with pay TV, pool tables and even a gym with full sports courts! Despite working for quite possible the most uptight boos ever who simply wouldn't settle for less than perfection, the steel and glass tower held an incredibly friendly atmosphere.

Being the sister of Seto's second biggest rival, the brunette thought Momo's bratty comments would be the nicest thing she would hear. As it turns out, her brother was incredibly well liked (something she took great pride in knowing). Shinji-san had introduced himself after returning from sick-leave (though the young man still did look a bit peaky) and told her (under strict confidentiality) that he even had her brother's autograph. Ignoring her embarrassment that Jounouchi thought of himself so highly to give out autographs, Shizuka had found other people who liked her brother. Sora thought he was a babe, Miki liked his luck strategy and Takao was content that he wouldn't be out of a job so long as Seto had plenty of rivals.

Regardless of all the good things that happened at Kaiba Corporation and all the skills she had learnt and would continue to learn and improve, which of course would help her in the future, this working life was taking it's toll. Her friends didn't quite understand why she couldn't ask for a sick day and hang out with them instead.

Miki had roared with laughter as she complained, telling the young girl "What, you want to walk up to Kaiba, all casual like and ask for a day off? He'd know in an instant!" She then continued by mentioning that everyday she had called in sick when she actually wasn't, without fail she'd run into the intimidating CEO. "He's got, like, this in built radar thing, I'm sure of it!"

Sora continued the tale. "It's like he tracks down all the guilty employees and stalks them, then purposefully ignores why you aren't at work. It makes you way more guilty and paranoid, even if you have a totally valid reason!"

As a result, the petite girl was trying to squeeze in social outings with her friends around the increasing amount of homework and assignments that was being shoved on poor, innocent, unsuspecting students. Yuki often complained about missing her regular dramas and threatened to go on strike if the onslaught of study continued to when the new season anime commenced. Shizuka, on the other hand, considered herself lucky if she managed to see a full set of commercials these days. School was stupid enough as it was, but some of the assignments tasks and work they were expected to do was monstruous.

 _At_ _least,_ she thought tiredly as she dropped her pen idly, honey eyes scanning her now finished essay,  _working_ _at_ _KC_ _has_ _made_ _me_ _more_ _organized,_ _less_ _lazy_ _and_ _has_ _given_ _me_ _new_ _ideas_ _of_ _how_ _to_ _figure_ _out_ _stuff_ _I_ _don_ _'_ _t_ _get._ It was roughly half past twelve when she finally crawled into bed, pen tucked soundly in her messy bun after a furious session of math. Falling asleep in an instant, she felt accomplished with what she had achieved.

Even when she woke up in the morning to find out the pen had snapped and leaked all through her hair, over her pillow and on her face, which simply enhanced the dark rings under her eyes, Shizuka couldn't help but feel that the stress had paid off.  _This_ _is_ _going_ _to_ _be_ _something_ _really_ _awesome,_ _I_ _know_ _it!_ _Even_ _though_ _I_ _'_ _ll_ _look_ _like_ _a_ _panda_ _bear_ _by_ _the_ _end_ _of_ _the_ _year,_ _I_ _won_ _'_ _t_ _give_ _up!_ That attitude, though admirable, diminished that day as her maths teacher announced weekly quizzes, her history teacher piled more readings on them and Yuki, class president, demanded one night each week to be devoted ti preparing for the school's cultural festival. Groaning, Shizuka had no choice but to go with the flow.

:.:

Stretching languidly, Shizuka stood up, grabbed her faux leather bag and started walking down the hall. She was almost at the lift when Miki called out to her.  
"Wait a second, would you?" The taller woman caught up with her and the brunette waited as the lady caught her breathe - she had winced watching her run in the heels, she'd hate to have actually done it! The redhead stood up abruptly, looking incredibly determined.  
"Are you doing anything three Friday's from now? Quickly now! It's life or death, Shizuka!"  
Puzzled, she shook her head, not affected at all by the dramatic attitude. "I'm not. Did you need me to do something for you..?"  
"Sure do! You and Momo will be taking over Hana-san's job, just for the night. So glad you agreed, see you later~!" With that, Miki ran off, ignoring the girl's stuttering and leaving Shizuka in a state close to panic _._

Hanako-san's job? No way! She'd be close to Kaiba, and it was certainly not the good type of close either. This was the type of close where he could breathe down her neck, freak her out and criticise every mistake she made with barely a word. Or, alternatively, the type of close where he could wring her neck for said mistakes. Why couldn't she be with Marie? That girl knew what she was doing, at least.

She'd already embarrassed herself enough as it was (she'd spilt coffee everywhere the last time, though that was Momo's fault for tripping her). Hanako was a seriously extreme worker, what would happen if she stuffed up? Unlike her earlier walk, which had been more of a skip, Shizuka kind of shuffled toward the lift, silently musing her impending doom.

:.:

Three Friday's later Shizuka and Momo left Kaiba Corporation together. They stepped out into the cold night air and the glass and steel doors shut firmly behind them. The two girls looked at each other, not entirely sure of what had just happened. Yes, they had survived the night, but where did that put them? Were they friends? Realising they were staring, they both gave a hurried apology and looked away hurriedly. The two girls waited in a strangely relieved and companionable silence as they waited to be picked up.

Earlier, Shizuka had been relieved to find that the other girl had been just as nervous as she was. However, the amount of work quickly got the better of her and she couldn't really think about much at all. Hanako's instructions were clear but the atmosphere was still intense. Maybe it was the daunting task of filling Hanako-san's expensive business shoes or the nervousness they felt whenever a door opened (she couldn't know for certain, but she was positive Momo was torn between being hopeful or fearful at seeing Kaiba just as she was). However, the girls hadn't seen a trace of their boss, which although she was highly relieved about it, made the entire evening feel rather anti-climactic.

Momo left with a curt nod when a private car came to pick her up and Shizuka was left waiting for another fifteen minutes before her brother finally showed up, half an hour later than he should have been. Jounouchi came running up to her; Yuugi, Anzu and the rest following. Meeting him halfway, she answered the gangs questions about her job as best as she could.

It made her feel guilty, but she simply couldn't tell them she worked at Kaiba Corporation. They all hated Kaiba... Well, hate was quite a strong word, but still, they'd all try to talk her out of it. They'd harass him whenever they saw the stoic CEO, which wasn't fair, considering how nice (lack of hatred or even just plain professionalism counted as nice in her books) and Jou would be embarassed. He'd see it as Shizuka needing something he couldn't provide and would feel as though he owed the tall brunette.

Thankfully, the Kaiba Corporation tower was Domino City's dominating feature and located in the middle of town, so it was a reasonable place to meet due to it's centrality and being well lit. It was also surrounded by security, so even Jou didn't do his usual 'Ya my sister and I need ya to be protected' speech. However, the fact that her lies rolled so easily off her tongue made her feel even worse and the discussion of visiting the new Kaiba Land at it's unveiling the next day only made her feel worse. Luckily she hadn't had to lie about wanting to see Kaiba Land. Many of the employees were taking the day off - Kaiba called it 'getting to know the customers' or something.

Jou smiled at her, glad she had taken the Saturday off so she could see Kaiba Land with them. She'd never been before, and the last time they'd been was when Kaiba had tried to kill them all. Wincing at the memory, the blonde focused on his sister again. She usually worked Saturday's but had managed to swap for a Sunday shift.  _Even_ _though_ _Kaiba_ _'_ _s_ _a_ _right_ _jerk,_ _he_ _'_ _s_ _damn_ _good_ _at_ _making_ _games_ _and_ _he_ _'_ _s_ _pretty_ _good_ _with_ _the_ _kids_ _too._

The new theme park wasn't in Domino, but it would be fun to take a bit of a journey, right?  _Specially_ _cuz_ _Zuka-chan_ _never_ _really_ _gets_ _any_ _free_ _time_ _nowadays._ _It_ _'_ _s_ _weird,_ _really._ _It_ _feels_ _like_ _yesterday_ _she_ _was_ _still_ _my_ _baby_ _sister,_ _just_ _taking_ _off_ _her_ _bandages_ _and_ _then_ _poof!_ _Over_ _night,_ _she_ _'_ _s_ _turns_ _into_ _a_ _mini_ _business_ _woman!_ _I_ _know_ _she_ _'_ _s_ _tired,_ _it_ _'_ _s_ _real_ _obvious,_ _but_ _this_ _work_ _experience_ _thing_ _will_ _help_ _her_ _get_ _a_ _real_ _job._ _Not_ _like_ _mine._ _I_ _don_ _'_ _t_ _want_ _her to_ _have_ _to_ _scrounge_ _for_ _pennies_ _or_ _worry_ _about_ _how_ _she_ _can_ _'_ _t_ _afford_ _to_ _eat_ _some_ _weeks._

Watching his sister muck around with his friends, he attempted not to let his feelings show on his face.  _I_ _don_ _'_ _t_ _like_ _her_ _working,_ _she_ _'_ _s_ _still_ _just_ _a_ _kid._ _I_ _suppose_ _it_ _'_ _s_ _anything_ _for_ _a_ _head_ _start_ _in_ _life,_ _right?_ _I_ _wish_ _she_ _'_ _d_ _be_ _more_ _honest_ _though_ _-_ _I_ _ain_ _'_ _t_ _around_ _as_ _much_ _as_ _we_ _'_ _d_ _both_ _like,_ _but_ _she_ _'_ _s_ _mah_ _sister_ _and_ _I_ _can_ _tell_ _a_ _lie_ _from_ _a_ _mile_ _away._ _Her_ _eyes_ _dart,_ _hands_ _twist_ _and_ _she_ _does_ _this_ _weird_ _high_ _pitched_ _giggled_ _thing._ _I_ _don_ _'_ _t_ _think_ _she_ _'_ _d_ _ever_ _do_ _anything_ _stupid._ _God_ _I_ _hope_ _she_ _doesn_ _'_ _t._ _Nah_ _I_ _'_ _m_ _just_ _been_ _paranoid._ _That_ _'_ _s_ _Kaiba_ _'_ _s_ _job._  Chuckling a bit to himself, he became serious again.  _She_ _ain_ _'_ _t_ _escorting_ _or_ _nothing,_ _but_ _she_ _ain_ _'_ _t_ _being_ _truthful_ _and_ _that_ _ain_ _'_ _t_ _smart._

Smiling as the young woman who he was only just seeing as more than his baby sister grabbed his hand. She had a genuine smile of her face, and her happiness mirrored his own (as did the shadow of something darker beneath it all). She'd talk when she was ready. Their mother would call him if things were desperate at any rate.

The group continued walking, Yuugi's had gotten closer while they had been chatting. They talked about how they'd make snacks and hot chocolate and argued over which movie they'd watch. Naturally, the group would watch the whole lot, but the mock banter was fun less. Looking down at his sister, the blonde duelist knew his siter needed the useless frivolity. He thought she looked way too stuff for a kid her age.

Laughing again and shaking his head at the look Shizuka gave him, Jonouchi thought a bit more.  _Listen_ _to_ _me,_ _I_ _sound_ _like_ _an_ _old_ _man!_ _Work_ _is_ _too_ _dull_ _for_ _us._ _It_ _'_ _s_ _making_ _us_ _old_ _and_ _boring._ _Another_ _reason_ _for_ _adventure!_ _And_ _maybe_ _Shizuka_ _will_ _be_ _reassured_ _that_ _I_ _'_ _m_ _still_ _her_ _brother_ _and_ _can_ _help_ _her.._ _Or_ _maybe_ _it_ _may_ _just_ _be_ _me_ _that_ _needs_ _reassuring._ _She_ _'_ _s_ _far_ _more_ _successful_ _than_ _me_ _already..._ _I_ _hope_ _my_ _little_ _sister_ _needs_ _me_ _just_ _as_ _much_ _as_ _I_ _need_ _her..._


	5. Kaiba Land

Luck was a very fickle thing. For Cinderella's step sisters, it came in the form of a ball. This was their chance to leave their mother (and the other sister) behind, waltzing towards a life of even greater riches, respect and recognition; a life as a princess! What more could anyone else ever want? Had it not been for the Fairy Godmother, one of them probably would have succeeded in having their dream become reality.

In reality, however, things are never as easy of a wave of a wand and the right pair of shoes. Fairy Godmothers do not exist and more often that not, nice guys finish last. It's a gritty race to the top, with most people unable to make it. So to get to the top, do we have to be relentless with what we want, or is it actually possible for the nice guy to win through hard work and dedication alone?

~.~

The day was bright and sunny and the new KaibaLand was filled with hundreds of families enjoying themselves. Momo was here with her own family, though she'd ditched them long ago to hang out with her friends. Her goals for the day were simple. Have fun and learn more about KaibaLand. Learning more about KaibaLand would help her to learn more about Kaiba himself (and why he thought it necessary to waste billions of yen on a theme park for kids, or for that matter, even work at all when he could be living it up).

It wasn't much, but it was a start. To even be able to see the bigger picture, you needed to be able to put the small ones together in the right order first. It would take some time but by the end of her internship, that picture would be revealed. Of course, she had no intention of living KC after her time there was over - she'd have a job there, or at the very least, an extension of what she already had.

Flicking her hair back, she laughed lightly at some joke her friend made. Paying attention to them just seemed troublesome. What were their goals? Did they have any, or were they going to leech of their parents forever? For herself, her goal was get to the top. It was going to be hard work to get there, but when she did, she would be set for life.

A good job (if she wanted to keep it), riches beyond imagine, an adorable younger brother and a ring placed on her finger, placed their by none either than Seto Kaiba himself.

First impressions, for a man like Seto Kaiba, were important, but moreso was every single meeting after that, be it in person or via technology. He was not one you ever wanted to show a bad side too - he'd never forget it and would constantly wonder if you were going to be worth his time and effort.

As such, when both Kaiba brothers opened the new theme park in a flash of camera lights and amid an ocean of cheers, she had used her Kaiba Corporation employment identification to push her way to the front, smiling sweetly and clapping along with everyone else. For the rest of the day, she was close to them (wishing furiously that Hanako wasn't there so she could get even closer but the woman's hawk eyes kept her at bay). It was tedious, smiling all day and praising Kaiba Corp and pretending to be interested in whatever the hell was going on around her, but the end goal was worth it.

She wouldn't let  _anything_  interfere with her fairy tale.

~.~

He and Hanako were both on their third coffee of the morning and struggling to act as though they were awake whereas their siblings were bright eyed and chattering happily away, somehow filled with energy. He'd never say it, but he envied them both; whenever Kaiba Corporation unveiled something new, whether it was a Duel Disk or a new theme park, he always spent the night before tossing and turning, unable to get even a wink of sleep, running various scenarios over and over in his mind, hoping that nothing would go wrong and if it did, thinking of ways to counter act it in the faster way imaginable. From experience, he knew Hana was the same which was why he was the one who made the coffee that morning (while she knew it would help her, she always made it far too weak - the coffee he made, on the other hand, was always created with an extra kick or ten).

Watching as Seto and Hanako tried to wake up as they were driven to the new KaibaLand, he attempted to hide a giggle without much success, leading to him being glared at (though, due to their tiredness, they looked a bit like zombies making him laugh even more). For most of the trip, Mokuba talked to Minako, who was still busy putting on her face (he had no idea why girls wore so much makeup when they were so much prettier by just being  _them_ ). After today, Seto was going to take a much deserved week off work. Because his brother was awesome, he'd also managed to convince his principal to let him have the week off! Time for a week of sleeping in, playing video games and watching anime!

For the most part, the day was an enjoyable one. They were able to ride everything and the whole park seemed flawless. The only problem was the amount of people, so even if you had a speed pass to get on things quicker, the lines still took a while. Trying to make your way through the stores was also hellish, but as long as he stuck directly behind Seto, everything was fine (Minako joked that it was like he was parting an ocean). Surprisingly they were able to get into Seto's choice of restaurant without any wait whatsoever. Unfortunately however, they ran into Yuugi and his friends.

Mokuba, of course, didn't mind, but his brother didn't like them and they didn't like his brother. It was kind of like being a tiny, obscure little country in between two huge countries who were waging war on each other. He honestly wasn't thinking when he blurted out that they should sit together, but Hanako thought it was a good idea so Seto had caved.

Lunch was awkward, but not totally unbearable. Kawai had obviously not told her friends about working at Kaiba Corporation. Hanako had also picked up on her attitude, though neither of them said much, letting Mokuba and Minako do the talking for them. As much as he had wanted to say something to the mutt and to the morons fawning over the dog's sister, not only would it be bad table manners (Minako liked to lecture him in an attempt to remind the younger but much taller teen that she was a fair few years older than him and deserved a bit of respect) but would also be bad publicity for both the park, his company and himself.

Since he wasn't going to contribute anything to the conversation, he decided not to pay attention to it. That led him to the realisation that Mimi (that wasn't her name... Whatever, she wasn't important nor useful so why bother?) was eyeing him off from the other side of the room. This was the fourth time he'd noticed how close she was - in a place as large as KaibaLand, it should practically impossible to 'bump into' someone once, let alone four times. Shuddering, he made a note to tell Hana later (perhaps she could work her magic and make the girl quit on her own free will... And by free will, of course he meant Hana had terroised her into quitting). Kawai seemed not to have noticed her co-worker, which was probably for the better considering their less than stellar relationship (though they had proven themselves to be a decent enough team last night).

Once lunch was over, he set himself up for an afternoon filled with stalkers and fangirls, screaming children and happy families as well as mediocre duelists trying to provoke him into duels. Of course, he had to make a speech just before the firework festival and Mokuba wanted to go on more rides (which he hated due to his height - rides simply weren't made for someone of his stature). Sighing, he tried to zone it all out, chalking it up to it being another day in the wonderful life of Seto Kaiba.

~.~

Despite the early hour they'd woken up and left Yuugi's, by the time they arrived at KaibaLand, the crowd was enormous. Thankfully it wasn't an overly hot day so the waiting wasn't too horrendous, but nonetheless, an hour later when they finally had their tickets and were allowed to get in, the gang was all incredibly relieved. The new KaibaLand was much larger than the first and wasn't solely focused on Duel Monsters (though that was the main feature, not that anyone expected any less from Kaiba).

They spent the morning on roller coasters, buying merchandise before it sold out (Shizuka quickly flashed her Kaiba Corp employment card to get a discount - no one caught on, simply thinking it was an opening day sale) and trying out different simulated games. For lunch, they dined in a Dragon themed restaurant (they were all surprised to see the Red Eyes Black Dragon in the same place as Kaiba's precious Blue Eyes and putting it down to Mokuba's influence). Shizuka had the shock of her life when, once again, she literally bumped right into Kaiba.

"I'm so sorry!" Kaiba looked down at her with one eyebrow raised, but Mokuba gave a cheery hello in response.  
"We didn't think we'd see you here today, Kaiba!"  
The taller duelist snorted. "You do realise that this is my theme park, right?" Seeing the annoyance coming off of Jou as his brother's eagerness to insult the blonde, Mokuba quickly interjected.  
"How about you guys sit with us for lunch?"

Protests from both parties quickly ensured. Mokuba whined that he didn't get to see Shizuka much at school and wanted to hang out with her while Anzu (as much as she hated Kaiba) still tried to see the good in people and was torn as to what she would choose. Shizuka just felt like she'd slip up and say something that would give her whole game away. Fortunately, they were saved by the arrival of Hanako and Minako.

"Seto-sama, if we sit with them, not only will it be a way to get honest and fast feedback about the park, but it will also be good for publicity." As quick as he was, Seto couldn't find a way around that logic and had to concede. Minako was chirpy and polite while introducing herself and her sister, so while they'd rather not sit with (from their experience) the slightly crazy CEO, Yuugi's group felt it'd be more than slightly rude on their end to say no.

Thus began a most awkward lunch, where Shizuka and her friends sat incredibly quiet, unlike what they were used to. It was unusual that Kaiba's group was doing most of the talking. Mokuba talked to Shizuka about the upcoming sports festival while Hanako and Kaiba asked blunt questions about the new KaibaLand. Minako chatted about nothing really in particular, making her seem more and more like an everyday person. She certainly didn't seem the type of girl who Kaiba would enjoy bustling around his house, with her loud laughter and boisterous personality. Jou thought he might have hired her simply because he gave her sister a job and was now too proud to fire her and admit he made a mistake.

"Uh... So what do you actually do all day?"  
"Which of us are you talking to?" No matter what anyone else said, Tristan had always found people speaking in unison slightly creepy. Yugi timidly pointed to Hanako so she quickly prattled off a long list of things they didn't understand (Duke did, but having his own technological company it wasn't surprising he understood geek speak). When she had finally stopped talking, her sister started speaking. It was hard to believe the two were actually twins with how different their every action was.

"Well, I clean and cook and-"  
"Stop lying Minako."  
"Pfft! Well, okay, I don't do most of that stuff. I boss around the people who do though, so that kinda counts, right? I have things on an even tighter schedule then Hana does at KC - simply so theres more time for fun!"

Well, they certainly could have figured that one out for themselves. Minako was a much thinner girl who obviously worshipped every fashion magazine around, covered in jewelry, expensive clothes and make up. She had bleached her skin, making her look less Japanese and more Western. Hanako was already  _tsking_  at her for her lack of ethics. Seto just rolled his eyes, focussing on his meal rather than pay attention to conversation and be civil while Mokuba just laughed and defended the younger twin.

When the two groups eventually split, they both sighed with relief. Both Mokuba and Minako had thought things had gone considerably well, when you think of the animosity Kaiba holds towards them all. Hanako hadn't gotten enough decent feedback and had decided that Seto's rivals were really as silly and annoying as he said they were.

But listening to her friend's talk about the company Kaiba was with and who he trusted, Shizuka felt odd. Thankfully she hadn't slipped up and mentioned anything about her job and her not talking much was just attributed to her usually quiet nature. Kaiba and Hanako had thankfully seemed to realise what she was doing and didn't mention anything either (she was going to have to thank him for that later). Something about the whole lunch still didn't sit right with her though. It wasn't until she arrived home late that night that she realised what it was.

Partly it was that she didn't want to walk on eggshells, she didn't want to hide things. She wanted to tell everyone about her internship and wanted to talk amicably to Kaiba's party (she especially wanted to assure Hanako that nothing had gone wrong last night). But the brunette was also especially curious about her boss. Mokuba was obviously his life and for opening day, it made sense Hanako would come along to make sure everything was in order. Minako seemed to be a fixated part of the family as well.

She wondered how they met and how long they'd known each other for. She wondered if he really didn't like the bright, bubbly type so much or if it was one of his masks. There were a lot of things she questioned about the stoic teen, yet she couldn't answer any of them. As she drifted to sleep, one last thought entered her mind.

She wondered what it took to gain the trust of Seto Kaiba.


End file.
